History of Black Friday

Online scheduling made easy

We’re pretty sure you’ve all experienced Black Friday in one way or another. Whether you’re the one who owns the store people are barging into, or you are the person barging into a store, you know how crazy Black Friday can get.

But where did the name come from? And how did it all begin?

In the 1950s, shop owners wanted to start the holiday period off with a bang, so they created offers and discounts for items in preparation for the holidays. Swarms of people would descend on the stores, eagerly waiting for the doors to open.

In Philadelphia, this coincided with the Army-Navy game, which would always be held on the weekend after Thanksgiving. This meant that not only were there hoards of people in the city, ready to do their biggest shopping spree of the year, but out-of-towners were also there, ready for the big game. For the Philadelphia police, this was a nightmare. It was, in fact, such a nightmare, that the police started referring to the Friday before the game as ‘Black Friday’, because of the number of extra hours they had to work over the long weekend. It was, for them, a negative term to describe their weekend.

Retailers desperately tried to change it from ‘Black Friday’ to ‘Big Friday’, because of the negative connotations, but the term stuck. So, instead of pushing the term away, they embraced it, and changed their ‘Thanksgiving deals’ to ‘Black Friday deals’. Unfortunately, for the police of Philadelphia, most people thought ‘Black Friday’ was coined to describe the retailers coming out of the red and into the black, where retailers finally made a profit during the holiday season.

For two of our Genbookers, House of Maya and a & bé bridal, Black Friday has been transformed into White Friday, where brides can make an appointment to try on dresses on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and grab a great deal. For Glo On Braids, there’s deals and specials for Black Friday. And for Frymire Body and Wellness, there are specially priced massages all the way through the weekend.

In 2015, $2.72 billion was spent on Black Friday, with 40% of those sales coming from ‘limited time only’ offers. What will 2016 bring? And what will you do to ensure your business profits this Black Friday? Let us know in the comments on Facebook!